There has been a lot of chatter about trade, or unfair trade, and an even greater amount of political talk about manufacturing jobs going from the United States to Mexico or China, or wherever. It’s an easy emotional trigger – “Unfair! Those people are taking advantage of us!” But, the future labor problem is automation. That is the real jobs… Read more »

James Harrison, an NFL football player of considerable skill and renown that plays on the Pittsburgh Steelers, recently made the news when he posted on his Instagram account that he made his two sons return the trophies they received from their youth athletic league. The trophies were not for any sort of special achievement; instead, the trophies were “participation trophies”… Read more »

Hillary Clinton, a Democratic contender in the Presidential race who stands a fair chance of being our next President, is speaking in Miami two days from now, and in that speech, is expected to call for a full lifting of the Cuban Embargo that has been in place since 1962. As she did with the immigration issue, Ms. Clinton is… Read more »

Does it make good sense to pay your employees as little as possible? Lots of small firms (and big corporations) would answer that quickly with a resounding “YES”. They would tell you that labor costs are a big part of their overall costs, and the more they can reduce labor costs, the better. But, if that’s the case, then why… Read more »

Apparently, what’s old is new again. It’s been noticed that many new technology firms are now hiring permanent, full-time employees as opposed to obeying the previous mantra of outsourcing everything they could, and having as few employees, and assets, as possible. Startups are abandoning the outsourcing model. These companies say that investing in employees by training them, giving them a… Read more »